


Our Connected Voice (will shake the sails)

by minikawa



Category: Monster (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Gen, M/M, also oc totally ships grimmer and tenma together, and grimmer is best dad, area man accidentally adopts an angry gremlin, oc is an angry gremlin child who needs a dad, takes place during the prague arc
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-12-24 00:49:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21090614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minikawa/pseuds/minikawa
Summary: Noni Novak yearns to see the world and start a new life...but she's an orphan, with no one to turn to and no clue where to start. Equally lost is Wolfgang Grimmer, a man investigating through the underworld of Prague to seek answers and justice. When their worlds collide, Noni and Grimmer find themselves navigating through Prague's most dangerous secrets, relying on each other to survive...





	Our Connected Voice (will shake the sails)

For two years, she had asked for the courage to fly away. 

As she walked further away from the convent, Noni was still unsure whether that prayer had been answered. For two years, the restlessness in her stomach had festered and churned until it felt like it would claw its way out of her gut. Now, that same restlessness still wriggled and writhed with every step away from the only place she had ever called home. 

Noni wondered what it was, the monster that had burrowed in her heart and scratched at her until she left. It certainly wasn’t the courage she had wanted. If it were, her legs wouldn’t have been faltering, nor would her feet be begging her to turn around-

_ No. You are  _ not  _ gonna let two years of grinding and working your ass off just to turn back around.  _

_ Move.  _

Noni adjusted her backpack. As she continued down empty corridors of alleyways, her hand slipped into her pocket, absentmindedly caressing the beads of her rosary. She had left the coif and veil behind, but the rosary refused to part with her. 

_ Like a leech.  _

Guilt instantly recoiled in her stomach from the thought. Noni muttered a quiet apology under her breath to no one in particular.

The sun was beginning to set behind the city of Prague. Shivering from the evening air, Noni uttered what she swore would be her very last prayer. 

“I need a sign. Make it rain fire, send a talking donkey, anything! Just...show me where to go.”

The streets responded with silence. 

Embarrassment and frustration crashed down on the runaway teen. Her knees buckled, and she slid against the alleyway wall with a groan of defeat. What little was left of her common sense nagged at her, berated her, demanded her to marcher her sorry ass back to the convent. All the while, the monster in her stomach viciously fought back.

_ I’m not going back- _

_ What did you think was out there for you-?! _

_ I was suffocating back there-! _

_ You were safe. You were sheltered.  _

_ I was  _ smothered _ -! _

_ Now you’re just being ungrateful! _

_ Shut up! _

_ No, you shut up! _

“Can you both just shut up?!” Noni snapped. The warring voices immediately went silent, giving Noni a chance to take a deep breath and ground herself back to her current situation. Running a hand down her face, she sighed and finally noticed the man who had just collapsed in front of her-

Oh. OH!

“Jesus Christ, mister!” Noni sprang to her feet, leaping to the man’s aid. He slumped over on his knees, his breathing labored. Dark red splotches were splattered all over him…

Blood. 

“Shit.” Noni’s heart raced. Her head whipped wildly as she looked around the alleyway. For help or for a sign of the attacker, she wasn’t so sure. She hopped nervously from foot to foot. 

“U-Um, okay,” her throat felt dry. “W-What happened? W-Wait, I-I...I need to call an ambulance...There must be...there must be a hospital close by-”

Before she could turn and run, a hand gripped at her wrist. Noni yelped, but was too stunned to pull away. She froze as the man gently tugged at her wrist, slowly raising his head to meet her eyes. Bruises and gashes marked his face, nearly rendering his eyes shut. He struggled to look at her. A weak breath escaped his cut lips. 

“D-Don’t...N-No...hospital…”

His voice was no more than a strained whisper, but Noni noticed something peculiar in his words. She thought she might have heard an accent. 

“B-But…” Noni swallowed, slowly trying to pull her wrist away from the man’s grip. “You’re hurt...whoever hurt you might be out there, and your injuries might be really bad…”

The man responded with silence. Exhaustion worn out his features, as well as confusion. He stared at Noni, slowly shaking his head. 

“I don’t...I don’t understand…”

Noni’s eyebrows furrowed. He was speaking in slow, broken Czech, and Noni could hear his accent a little more clearly now. 

“Do you speak German?” he asked.

The question surprised her. So he was German? Well, it wasn’t uncommon for German tourists to visit Prague. What definitely wasn’t common was tourists passing out all bloodied up in alleyways, let alone collapsing in front of a runaway nun. 

Noni cleared her throat. “German? Um, a little…” It felt strange switching languages. She hadn’t spoken it in so long. Not since…

“I have to get you an ambulance-”

“No, please! Wait!” The man’s grip tightened on her wrist, yet not enough to hurt her. He...he didn’t look like he wanted to hurt her. There was now a tint of desperation in his exhausted eyes. “I’ll be okay...I haven’t been hurt...too badly. I just need...to get back to my hotel room.”

_ Not too badly? You look like a corpse!  _ Noni bit her lip, looking back and around the alleyway once more. Stumbling upon a beaten, bloodied foreigner definitely wasn’t good luck. There was a chance that whoever he had gotten into trouble with could come back and finish the job. But so far, nobody has pounced out of the shadows to beat the crap out of the man. There was no sign of the police or an ambulance. This part of town was pretty much barren, especially at a late hour like this. 

She couldn’t just leave him alone.

“Where are you staying?” 

“Just on the edge of town,” he rasped. “I don’t think...it’s far from here...maybe.”

Looked like she was going to have to be his tour guide. Noni looked back at the alley again. The sun was scarce, and darkness frayed at the edges of the sky. She shivered, and so did the man. 

She could run. That was the smartest decision: to run back to the convent, beg for forgiveness, and hide once again behind the safety of its walls. 

But Noni was never one for making smart decisions. If she had, she wouldn’t have had run away in the first place. 

She extended her hand.

“C’mon, let’s get a move on before it gets dark,” she gently tugged him up, firmly holding his arm as he staggered onto his feet. She was surprised at how tall he was, even when slumped over in pain. “Can you walk?”

He nodded. “I should be able to make it.” He leaned slightly on the girl’s shoulder, and Noni nearly stumbled beneath the weight. With a huff, they moved forward together. 

“What’s your name, anyway?” she asked. Despite the obvious pain he was in, the man smiled. He had a warm, closed-eye smile. 

“Just call me Grimmer.”

**Author's Note:**

> BOOYAH!! I actually uploaded this a few weeks ago, but I wasn't happy with it so here it is officially uploaded!!! Found family stories will always have a special place in my heart, so here's my attempt at one X'D Hope yall enjoy!
> 
> Title is from a line in Aimer's song "Torches" 
> 
> Noni Novak is my OC, btw! ^_^


End file.
